My boat is the Ofcet 6.50 #880, it's the 4th boat in the Ofcet series. It was launched at the end of 2014 and put at the disposal of Julien Pulvé who will finish first in the second leg of the Mini-transat 2015 (2nd overall). It crossed the Atlantic a second time in the hands of Boris Pelsy in 2017. After these 2 transats, some parts are starting to get tired and need maintenance. But sometimes faults are not spotted in time and turn into damage. A small overview of the galleys of a Ministe.
Spreader bar breakage
During a delivery trip between Les Sables and La Rochelle to participate in a training weekend, I was sailing in about 20 knots of wind in very calm seas (protected by the Ile de Ré). In the middle of the night, the starboard spreader bar on the second floor gave way. I immediately lowered the solent and reduced the mainsail as quickly as possible to 3rd reef (until today, this is the only time I had to reef to 3rd reef). I launched a Pan pan pan on the VHF. The Cross quickly got in touch with me to explain the situation to them. For the moment I don't ask for assistance but have to go up the mast to free the spreader still attached to the V2D3 shroud. I had taken possession of the boat only two weeks earlier and was not yet equipped with a harness. The climb up to the mast was rather perilous: without security on a boat tossed by the waves at 3am. Not to be reproduced at home! I freed the spreader bar by breaking the tip (I went up without the right screwdriver tip and didn't really feel like going back and forth to get it ...).
I reached La Rochelle on a single three-reefed mainsail. The end of the night was long, but I didn't have any additional problems. Luckily the mast stayed up!
I would like to point out that throughout the operation CROSS was very present, following me at the AIS and regularly checking up on me until my arrival in La Rochelle. Very professional and reassuring in this kind of situation.
Electronics problem
Electronics: My pet peeve! Indispensable for the solo sailor, it is our best friend on board ... as long as it works properly! I had problems during the Pornichet Select 6.50 where my driver never started, forcing me to use my spare driver all the way through the race. I had to give up any hope of a correct result.
Even if I am not sure about the cause of the failure, I suspect a bad contact of a wire that moved during the security checks. During these checks, it is asked to take out the bib located at the back. To reattach it, you have to slide into the gallery under the cockpit where all the electronics are also installed. Something probably got caught and pulled a wire.
After the race I took all the connections back and the driver worked properly again ... until last weekend, during a training session before the Mini Fastnet.
This time the problem is different. It is the wind information that shows signs of failure, putting the computer and therefore the pilot at fault. In order: the information requiring wind data is cut off one by one, the NKE display freezes, the computer beeps, indicating that the pilot has been disconnected.
A solution has been proposed by the electronics engineer from Les Sables d'Olonne (Robin Marine): disconnect one by one the peripherals until we find the one that makes the nav central bug'. We logically started with the windvane, which seems to solve the problem, but - obviously - deprives the wind information. I've been lent a windvane to test it and confirm that the source of the problem does indeed come from up there. I haven't tested it yet, more to come..
Heel: The stupid mistake
If you try to cut the angles too much, you end up getting too close to the ribs. Sometimes I've been able to reach the heel of the beaches of the island of Ré by shaving them a little bit. The keel rubbed against the sand, the boat sank and the starboard rudder hit some rocks. That day, we were sailing double-handed. We lowered the spinnaker in an emergency and heeled the boat as far as we could. My crew member jumped into the water (rudder hitting = less than a metre of water) to try to push the boat out of the bad patch.
We quickly released #880. Back in port I noticed the damage: the keel is fine, but the rudder tip is damaged. It is "only" composite, it will be quickly repaired.
It's a stupid mistake that could have been easily avoided. Next time I'll be less greedy. But I can take comfort in the fact that even Tabarly's been on the bottom of my heels before.
Like all boats, a Mini requires attention and a lot of time to keep it in shape. Rigorous and careful maintenance limits the risk of damage and disappointment. But sometimes breakdown occurs where you least expect it. I think that after two years of racing I'll still have a lot more stories to tell and these few adventures are just the beginning.
